The thrill of discovering a 'new' author

Isn't it exciting when you discover a new author?  Now, I'm not talking about an author who just got his or her big break and published their first book.  I'm talking about an author who may have been around for years and achieved great heights of success, but who, for whatever reason, has remained off of your personal radar screen.

It's a blissful experience because suddenly you have a new list of books to read that you never knew existed.  Obviously, if your newly recognized author is good, they will have a sizable backlist. You can delve in with relish.  You might not even care if you start at the beginning.

Robson Green as Dr. Tony Hill

I have just had that delicious experience of finding an author that was right under my nose, so to speak, for a very long time.  Her name is Val McDermid and she is a widely popular mystery and crime author in the UK.  Interestingly, I didn't even discover her by picking up or being given one of her books.  I discovered her because whenever I watch Robson Green, I don't want to stop watching.


Let me explain.

Robson Green is a talented and gorgeous British TV actor with mesmerizing blue eyes.  I first became aware of him when I watched a PBS Mystery! series called Touching Evil.  Then, sadly, I didn't see him in anything else for a long while. Until Wire in the Blood.  That series, about a socially inept yet wildly intuitive clinical psychologist who helps the police profile killers, aired on ITV in Britain for six seasons.  Joyfully, every single season is currently available on Netflix for instant play.  I confess that I blitzed most of a recent weekend by watching nearly the entire six seasons.  And I don't regret it.  Wire in the Blood is the best crime drama I have ever seen.  Even if you removed the compelling Robson Green from the series, though thankfully they never did, it would still be a brilliant achievement of script writing, production value, and ensemble acting.

Finally, after who knows how many episodes, I actually watched the opening credits rather than letting them slide by in anticipation of the first glimpse of Mr. Green.   I saw the words "based on characters created by Val McDermid" and that's when I knew.  Somewhere there were books or stories written by this McDermid person that originated the characters of Dr. Tony Hill (played by Green) and DCI Carol Jordan (played by Hermione Norris in the first three seasons) .

A few clicks on my laptop and I discovered a treasure trove.  Val McDermid has written six books featuring Dr. Hill.  She's also written over twenty other books, including a few series with other crime solvers and a few stand alones.  One of those stand alone novels, A Place of Execution, is one of the richest and most deftly written books I have ever read.  The story has also been turned into a TV film starring Greg Wise.

I have read three Val McDermid novels now, totally out of any chronological order.  The most recent read, Beneath the Bleeding, is one of her more recent Tony Hill/Carol Jordan mysteries and it is excellent.  I find that her books, though the same length as most of my historical romance reads, take me longer.  I think it's because I'm savoring her skill with words and characterization.  She's generally a spare writer.  Yet the writing sparkles and you get the sense that it is effortless for her.

If you like fast-paced crime dramas, well-written, contemporary British mysteries, or gorgeous men with magnetic blue eyes, I highly recommend McDermid's books and the TV series based upon them, Wire in the Blood.